PORTSMOUTH, Va. - In a Portsmouth courtroom Friday, the woman shot inside of Simonsdale Elementary School faced the man allegedly responsible for discharging the gun.
Antonio Duane Mills
The woman says she was picking up her grandchild at the school when a man came into the building behind her. She says while the two were in the lobby, she heard a loud pop and then felt a burning sensation. After feeling the pain, she says she realized she had been shot.
After the shooting, she says the man who was in the school with her left the building, getting into a car and driving off.
The woman shot identified the person in the school with her as Antonio Mills. He was standing just feet away from her in the courtroom.
Mills faces several firearm related charges. He turned himself in to Portsmouth Police on November 26, days after the shooting.
Several other witnesses, including a member of school staff and another grandparent who was at the school, told the judge similar stories, saying they heard a loud pop after Mills came into the school.
But Mills' attorney challenged their testimony, pointing out the fact that no witnesses ever saw a gun and two of the witnesses did not know who Mills was until he was arrested and charged.
After hearing from seven witnesses, the judge ultimately decided that there was enough evidence for Mills' case to move forward. It will be heard next in Circuit Court. A date has not yet been set.
Mills is currently out on bond. After court, he did not want to talk to News 3 about the charges he faces.
